Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 337.1

(EP-337.1) Of Hearts #6

337 – Queen of Hearts #6

Mirna and I stepped away from the Lioness villa for a moment to talk.

“This seems to be the royal capital from two years ago. It’s Monarch City before I proposed the Slave Abuse Prevention Act. It’s a world where Theo Gospel doesn’t yet exist.”

First, I shared the information I had gathered.

“We’ll need to verify further…”

From what I could tell, this place was the royal capital from two years ago.

The proof lay in the butler, who had stated that Elga was nineteen this year. Considering that Elga’s real age was over twenty, it became clear that we had traveled into the past.

Of course, we hadn’t actually gone back in time.

But this imaginary world was so intricately and vividly crafted that it truly felt as if we had returned to a day from two years ago.

The sensation of rain soaking my entire body, the damp touch of my clothes—

Even the scent of wet earth, the relentless pounding of raindrops, and the rumbling thunder all around—

Nothing about it felt like a dream. It was all too real.

Was something like this even possible?

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As I touched the falling raindrops with my palm, Mirna said to me.

“Feels real, doesn’t it? As if everything is true. In a way, this place is no different from the real world. Even the expressions and actions of the people. Special effort was definitely put into this spell.”

“Indeed, the butler spoke just like a real person.”

“Of course, there are still limits. This world operates based on the memories and thoughts of Queen Tarantera. It’s shaped by her unconscious mind.”

I understood what Mirna was saying.

The human mind and consciousness were often compared to an iceberg—what was visible and used was only a small fraction of the whole.

In that sense, this world was a manifestation of the unseen subconscious.

It was a world formed from the faces Aira had seen, the fleeting moments she had witnessed, and the information she had unconsciously absorbed without much thought.

In other words, everything that Aira had perceived.

Mirna added more explanation.

“The dreamer won’t realize it’s a dream until the moment they wake up. So unless Queen Aira becomes aware of it, this world is real.”

“True, when you’re dreaming, it’s impossible to tell if it’s real or not.”

But of all times, why did it have to be two years ago?

“Mirna-nim, this might be more difficult than I expected. Aira-nim from two years ago was… deeply troubled and cold. She was nothing like the person she was in Ark.”

I gave her a fair warning that our task might become much harder.

Fortunately, Mirna simply responded, “I was prepared for difficulties.” She accepted it without hesitation. Her spirit was truly impressive.

As I was caught in admiration, Mirna glanced at me before gently taking hold of my pinky finger.

“Sir Theo, you endured that time alone. But now, I’m here with you. It will be much better than before.”

“That’s really reassuring.”

It made me feel like I could do anything.

‘Indeed.’

If I had a companion like Mirna back then, I could have done so much more. Perhaps even achieve greater things.

If we had been together at that time, we would have a lot of late night talks, gossip about Aira, and….

Thinking about it, Mirna seemed so endearing right now. I quickly pulled her into a hug and buried my face in her chest.

Rub rub rub.

“W-Wah… ah…!”

Startled by my sudden action, Mirna let out a flustered sound. Of course, I had no intention of pulling away from her warm and soft embrace.

“I’m really glad that Mirna-nim is my wife.”

“I get it, so please… just step back a little…! I’m wet from the rain, and I’m sweaty from running around trying to find Sir Theo earlier, so I might smell….”

Sniff sniff.

“I don’t smell anything. Just nice and warm.”

“… Anyway, this isn’t the time for this! We need to hurry and regroup with Lady Lioness. If she’s left alone for too long, she might start getting confused.”

Swish.

Hearing the seriousness in Mirna’s voice, I lifted my head from her embrace and started thinking more seriously too.

According to Mirna, if we didn’t find Elga soon, she might start believing this place was the ‘real world’ and become deeply affected by it.

I wasn’t sure what kind of effect that would have, but…

It definitely wouldn’t be good.

“But as Lady Mirna saw, I’m treated like a stranger in this world. I can’t just walk into the Lioness villa. What should we do?”

If I trespassed onto the territory of a great family, I’d be skewered. The Lioness family had more than enough authority to execute intruders on the spot, after all.

What should we do?

Should I use Mirna’s name?

The Draco family name she carried still held influence in this world from two years ago.

But Mirna shook her head.

“The Draco family’s eldest daughter suddenly visits the Lioness family—something like that would draw too much attention. That would reveal our location to the guards.”

If possible, we had to remain discreet.

That was Mirna’s policy.

We were intruders in this world, like a virus. And if the Ars Nova inside Aira became aware of our presence, it would be quite troublesome.

“It’s not time to step forward yet. First, we need to strengthen Queen Tarantera’s spirit so that she can face her own darkness. Only then will it be our turn to act.”

“As expected, Lady Mirna is incredibly wise. I’d like to award you some extra points.”

Mirna shook her head at my joke.

“We’ll settle that once this is all over.”

So she was planning to settle it.

Anyway—

“So, in short, we need to proceed secretly. Does that mean we have to sneak inside?”

Mirna shook her head again at my question.

“If we get caught sneaking in, it’ll cause an uproar. And besides, there’s no need for us to sneak over walls like thieves. We’ll enter through the front gate.”

Through the front gate?

How?

Just as I was confused, Mirna let out a soft chuckle.

“Sir Theo, have you ever heard of lucid dreams?”

“By lucid dreams, are you talking about the phenomenon where you’re aware that you’re dreaming?”

“That’s right. Narmi and I have trained extensively in lucid dreaming. So once we recognize that this is a dream, we can do this.”

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